It has been suggested that summer has already begun at the cineplexes, with the huge opening for ``The Scorpion King." Whether The Rock has legs as well as arms will be seen. But well before Memorial Day, the traditional start of summer, the long season for big movies surely commences on Friday with the arrival of ``Spider-Man."

The tale of a teenage mutant and the further adventures of Anakin Skywalker, Princess Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi lead a varied collection of science-fiction fantasies, including three of the summer's other potential blockbusters - Steven Spielberg's ``Minority Report" with Tom Cruise, Barry Sonnenfeld's ``Men in Black 2" with Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, and M. Night Shyamalan's ``Signs," with Mel Gibson. Also on the sci-fi horizon are ``Reign of Fire" (dragons), ``Eight-Legged Freaks" (mutant spiders) and ``The Adventures of Pluto Nash" (Eddie Murphy vs. Moon mafiosi).

Close behind as the summer's hottest genre is the spy thriller, whether serious or comic. The end of May brings the latest of Thomas Clancy's Jack Ryan adventures, ``The Sum of All Fears," starring Ben Affleck. ``Bad Company," with Anthony Hopkins mentoring Chris Rock, follows, along with ``The Tuxedo" with Jackie Chan and ``The Bourne Identity" with Matt Damon. Then there are two sequels, both spoofy, ``Austin Powers in Goldmember" with Mike Myers, and ``Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams."

Less genre-oriented but certainly looming as hits, perhaps even prestigious ones, are two films opening on July 12, one of the summer's big dates. Tom Hanks takes on a dark role in a period gangster picture directed by Sam Mendes, and Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd and Ellen Burstyn head the cast of ``Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," directed by Callie Khouri.

In one of two films about failed Hollywood directors, Pacino also heads the cast of Andrew Niccol's ``Simone," while Woody Allen directs himself in ``Hollywood Ending." Love noir tales include Adrian Lyne's ``Unfaithful" with Richard Gere as the cuckold, and the oddly titled ``Swimfan."

There are two basketball comedies: ``Juwanna Mann," and the youth-oriented ``Like Mike," and a raft of animated films: DreamWorks' ``Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," Disney's ``Lilo & Stitch," ``Hey Arnold! The Movie" and ``The Powerpuff Girls," the latter two derived from popular television cartoons. Family pictures using animation or puppetry as well as live action include ``Scooby-Doo," ``Stuart Little 2" and ``The Country Bears."

Will there be any sign of human intelligence out there as the temperature rises and parched lawns burn? Well, we can always count on Oscar Wilde. His ``The Importance of Being Earnest," with Reese Witherspoon as the ingenue, is due soon.

As always, the following list is subject to change.

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Friday

Spider-Man - Sam Raimi, who showed his strong hand with a superhero in ``Darkman," now turns to a more whimsical comic book hero in a picture that celebrates the 40th anniversary of the web-slinger's first appearance. Tobey Maguire plays Peter Parker, whose spider bite gives him great strength and an incredible ability to scale any surface. Willem Dafoe plays his nemesis, the Green Goblin, with Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Wilson, James Franco as Harry Osborn, Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben, Rosemary Harris as Aunt May, and J.K. Simmons as Jonah Jameson, Peter's boss at the Daily Bugle. http://www.spiderman.sonypictures.com

Hollywood Ending - In his newest film, Woody Allen plays a washed-up director, the double Oscar winner Val Waxman, looking for his comeback picture, but who suddenly goes blind during the shooting and must cover up his malady. Treat Williams is the studio boss who hires Val to direct the poor loser's ex-wife, who is now dating the mogul. Téa Leoni plays the ex-wife, and Debra Messing, Mark Rydell and George Hamilton comprise the ensemble. http://www.dreamworks.com/hollywoodending

Unfaithful - Adrian Lyne of ``Fatal Attraction" fame again underlines the hazards of adultery in this tale being promoted as ``an erotic thriller about the body language of guilt." Richard Gere and Diane Lane are the couple, and Olivier Martinez acts the man who jeopardizes their marriage. The veteran screenwriter Alvin Sargent based the film on Claude Chabrol's ``La Femme Infidèle." http://www.unfaithfulmovie.com

Prozac Nation - Christina Ricci heads the cast as Elizabeth, who heads off to Harvard to pursue her dream to write, and succeeds as a rock scribe before falling victim to clinical depression, as in the '90s cult book by Elizabeth Wurtzel. Jessica Lange plays the mother, Anne Heche is the shrink and Jason Biggs is featured. Erik Skjoldbjaerg, who made the Norwegian ``Insomnia," directs. http://www.miramax.com/prozacnation

ESPN's Ultimate X - This big-screen attraction, booked for the Odyssey house at the Crown Palace in Hartford, showcases ESPN's Summer X Games. Bruce Hendricks' documentary shows the action and what goes on behind the scenes, as it presents the top athletes as they compete in skateboarding, biking and moto X, but not in rollerball.

The New Guy - Postponed from the fall, this high school comedy stars DJ Squalls (the ``Road Trip" nerd) as a geeky student, Dizzy Harrison, who reinvents himself with the aid of a new role model, played by Eddie Griffin. Locked in the cooler for his antisocial acts at his old school, Diz emerges to become hip Gil Harris and transforms life at his new school. Ed Decter directs an ensemble that includes Eliza Dushku and Zooey Deschanel, and Lyle Lovett.

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May 16

Star Wars: Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones - George Lucas, revitalized in middle age after giving up directing, continues the early trilogy in the Skywalker saga with Hayden Christensen (the son of ``Life as a House") as Anakin as a teenager, and Natalie Portman returning as Amidala. Also back is Ewan McGregor as the young Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin's mentor as a Jedi knight. The plot centers on a conspiracy against Amidala, and Obi-Wan's visits to two previously unseen planets. The cast includes the returning Samuel L. Jackson with perhaps a ghostly glimpse of Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn, killed in ``Episode I."
http://www.starwars.com

May 17

About a Boy - Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz of ``American Pie" fame are the co-directors and writers (with Paul Hedges) of this adaptation of a novel by Nick Hornby (``High Fidelity"), which stars Hugh Grant as a rich and irresponsible Londoner in his early 30s who invents an imaginary son in order to attend single-parent meetings. He thus encounters a 12-year-old boy who helps him to achieve belated responsibility. Toni Collette and Rachel Weisz play two women in our anti-hero's life and Nicholas Hoult is the boy.

May 24

Insomnia - Al Pacino and Robin Williams head the cast of this American version of the 1997 Norwegian film about two cops sent to a remote town to investigate a girl's murder. Pacino acts a detective who accidentally kills his partner, while Williams is the sadistic killer who plays on the cop's guilt. Hilary Swank is the local policewoman on the case, and Martin Donovan, Nicky Katt and Maura Tierney are featured under the direction of Christopher Nolan, director of last year's acclaimed ``Memento."

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - This traditionally animated feature centers on a wild mustang on the American frontier who defies being broken by the Lakota brave who becomes his friend, and who finds love with a painted mare named Rain.

Enough - Jennifer Lopez returns as a working-class waitress called Slim who ascends to a better life when she marries the wealthy contractor Mitch, played by Billy Campbell. But there she is with a great house and a darling 5-year-old named Gracie, plus an abusive hubbie. Slim and Gracie take to the road, pursued by the obsessive Mitch and his dangerous henchmen. So Slim finds a safe place for Gracie and toughens herself to strike back. Michael Apted directs.

The Importance of Being Earnest - Oliver Parker, who succeeded so impressively with the film version of Oscar Wilde's ``An Ideal Husband," now takes on the great wit's most famous play with a cast headed by Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon and Judi Dench.

May 31

The Sum of All Fears - Ben Affleck takes over the role of the CIA's Jack Ryan, previously played by Alec Baldwin (once) and Harrison Ford (twice). Tom Clancy's espionage thriller centers on a dastardly plot to draw the United States and Russia into World War III. The death of Russia's president ratchets up world tension and Ryan, the young Company analyst, must uncover the forces behind the conspiracy. The impressive supporting cast includes Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell, Liev Schreiber, Alan Bates, Ron Rifkin, Bruce McGill and Josef Sommer.

Bad Company - Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock team as a senior spook and a street hipster who must take over the negotiation of a nuclear weapons deal. Rock's character is recruited as a stand-in for his murdered twin. Joel Schumacher directs.

The Tuxedo - Jackie Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt team up as a cabbie-turned-chauffeur and his new partner in the secret agent game in Kevin Donovan's feature directing debut, which centers on the idea that clothes make the man. When Chan's Jimmie Tong tries on the prized old tux of his millionaire playboy boss, he discovers the suit gives him much needed super powers.

June 14

The Bourne Identity - Matt Damon heads the cast of the film version of Robert Ludlum's 1980 novel. The title refers to an amnesiac's search for his identity after his rescue by Italian fishermen. Pursued by hired killers, he finds that he possesses extraordinary talents in linguistics and self defense. Aided by Franka Potente's rebellious Marie, he searches for his identity, wondering why so many people want him dead. Doug Liman (``Swingers," ``Go") directs.

Windtalkers - Nicolas Cage plays an American Marine in the Pacific in John Woo's film about the relationships between the Marines and the Navajo code-talkers they were assigned to protect. The title refers to the native American tongue which worked as an unbreakable code against the Japanese. In the climax the Marines must fight off the Japanese during the battle of Saipan.

Love and a Bullet - Treach of Naughty by Nature plays a gangsta kid turned hit man, who reconsiders his life when assigned to kill his boss's innocent girlfriend. He decides it is time for a showdown. Ben Ramsey and Kantz (who goes by a single name) direct their own screenplay.

June 21

Minority Report - Steven Spielberg directs Tom Cruise in a future-shock thriller based on a story by Philip K. Dick, whose works previously inspired ``Blade Runner" and ``Total Recall." Set in Washington in 2054, the detective thriller casts Cruise as the head of a Precrime unit, which uses psychic profiling to arrest and convict murderers before they commit their crimes. Then Cruise's cop finds himself accused of the future murder of a man he has not even met. Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton and Max Von Sydow are featured.

Lilo & Stitch - This summer's animated feature from Disney pairs a lonely Hawaiian lass named Lilo with a small ``ugly" dog she calls Stitch. The blue, toothy creature in fact is a genetic experiment who escaped from an alien planet and crash-landed on Earth.

Juwanna Mann - When Jamal Mann's on-court antics get him booted from the NBA, he hatches a scheme to stay in the game. Dressing as a woman, he signs on to an WNBA team, with the expected complications. Miguel A. Nunez Jr., who won the part by showing up for auditions in drag, heads the cast that includes Vivica A. Fox, Tommy Davidson, Kevin Pollak, Kim Wayans and Kimberly ``Lil' Kim" Jones. Jesse Vaughan directs.

June 28

Mr. Deeds - Adam Sandler, of all people, plays Longfellow Deeds, a character with the same name as Gary Cooper's Vermont tuba player-poet in Frank Capra's 1936 ``Mr. Deeds Goes to Town." The new Mr. Deeds runs a pizzeria in Mandrake Falls, N.H., where he recites greeting card poetry, but the story is more or less the same, as the innocent comes into a huge inheritance ($40 billion, the world's largest media company, a football team, a basketball team and a private helicopter) and draws the attention of the press. Winona Ryder has the Jean Arthur reporter role. John Turturro plays the new billionaire's valet, and Peter Galllagher, Allen Covert and Jared Harris are featured under the direction of Steven Brill.

Hey Arnold! The Movie - Nickelodeon's city kid with a football-shaped head finds himself pitted against a powerful developer with plans for a giant ``mall-plex." Can Arnold and his friend Gerald find the document that can stop the bulldozers? Tuck Tucker directs this film version of the television series created by Craig Bartlett. The voice talents include Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Lloyd and Paul Sorvino.

The Crocodile Hunter - Steve Irwin has the title role of an intrepid Aussie adventurer who nabs another croc, hoping to save it from poachers, but unaware the beast has swallowed a top-secret U.S. satellite beacon and the poachers are American special agents on the instrument's trail. Steve's wife Terri Irwin provides commentary on the adventures in the bush, which is infested with bird-eating spiders and venomous snakes. John Stainton directs a cast that includes Magda Szubanski and David Wenham.

July 3

Men in Black 2 - Tommy Lee Jones' Kay and Will Smith's Jay team up again, this time to battle the sinister seductress Serleena of Lara Flynn Boyle, a Kylothian monster who disguises herself as a lingerie model. After the fiendish Serleena takes the entire Men in Black building hostage, Jay, still an alien regulator MIB, recruits the aid of Kay, who is happily working for the U.S. Postal Service. Barry Sonnenfeld again directs, with an ensemble that includes Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson, Tony Shalhoub and Rip Torn.

The Powerpuff Girls - Blossom (the redhead), Bubbles (the blonde) and Buttercup (the brunette), the three cartoon supergirls created by Prof. Utonium and his Chemical X, bring their powers in fighting, flight and kung fu to the big screen in their fight to defend Townsville, and the world, from the evil mutant monkey Mojo Jojo.

July 12

Road to Perdition - Moved up from a fall release, this tale of gangsters in the Middle West in the Depression teams Tom Hanks with director Sam Mendes ("American Beauty") and also features Paul Newman, Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, a hit man for an Irish gang. After his work causes the death of his wife and son, Sullivan and his surviving boy travel on a voyage of discovery and a quest for revenge. Also in the cast are Daniel Craig, Stanley Tucci, Tyler Hoechlin and Liam Aiken.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Sandra Bullock heads the cast of Callie Khouri's film version of cult novels by Rebecca Wells, which also stars Ellen Burstyn as an eccentric mother and Ashley Judd as her younger self. The plot centers on the decision of Bullock's Siddalee to move away from her mother, who is not even invited to her wedding. Subsequently, Siddalee receives her mother's diary from the '30s. Fionnula Flanagan, Cherry Jones, Maggie Smith, James Garner, Shirley Knight, Angus MacFadyen and Matthew Settle people this ``Steel Magnolias" variation, directed by the writer of ``Thelma & Louise."

Reign of Fire - A 12-year-old London boy named Quinn watches as his mother, a construction engineer, disturbs the sleep of a huge, flame-throwing beast. Twenty years later, the dragon and its offspring terrorize the world. The now-grown Quinn, a fire chief played by Christian Bale, fights the fire breathers, and a hotshot American played by Matthew McConaughey arrives with a plan to end their reign. Izabella Scorupco and Gerard Butler are featured under the direction of Rob Bowman.

Like Mike - Teen hip-hop star Lil' Bow Wow plays a 14-year-old orphan, Calvin Cambridge, who dreams of being an ace slam-dunker, but lacks the height and skill - until he laces up a pair of old sneakers with ``M.J." inscribed inside. Now he is so hot that he leads a struggling NBA aggregation to victory. John Schultz directs a cast that includes Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki, Crispin Glover and Eugene Levy.

Blue Crush - Kate Bosworth is Anne Marie, a true surfer girl who lives in a beach shack with three other girls, including a younger sister, and rises with the dawn to challenge the waves. Then she falls for a pro quarterback. Michelle Rodriguez and Matthew Davis also figure in John Stockwell's tale of love and Hawaii.

Barbershop - Ice Cube plays Calvin, the proprietor of a tonsorial parlor on Chicago's South Side, inherited from his father. After selling the burdensome place to a loan shark, Calvin experiences a change of heart. The ensemble includes Cedric the Entertainer as an old barber with a big mouth and no customers, Sean Patrick Thomas as a highly educated barber with a superiority complex and Troy Garity as a white man who just wants to cut hair.

July 19

K-19: The Widowmaker - Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson head the cast of this tale of a Cold War captain ordered to take command of the pride of the Soviet Navy, the nuclear submarine K-19. But Ford's Alexi Vostrikov faces problems that could precipitate a core meltdown, perhaps triggering nuclear war, and must decide whether to disobey orders to take the sub to sea. Kathryn Bigelow (``Near Dark," ``Strange Days") directs this fact-based military thriller.

Stuart Little 2 - This time the wonderful bird Margalo, sorely missed in the first film, turns up as a damsel in distress who must be rescued from a villainous Falcon. Melanie Griffith lends her baby voice to Margalo, while James Woods works up more malevolence as the bad bird. Michael J. Fox and Nathan Lane are heard again as Stuart and Snowbell (who reluctantly joins in the rescue effort).

Eight-Legged Freaks - In a modern variation on ``Them!" a chemical spill in a rural mining town turns poisonous spiders into killers the sizes of SUVs. David Arquette and Kari Wuhrer play the leaders of the fight against the mutant monsters.

Halloween: Resurrection - Jamie Lee Curtis is back for more in this follow-up to ``Halloween: H20," which portrays a group of teens who win a contest to spend a night at Michael Myers' boyhood home for live webcast. Rick Rosenthal directs.

July 26

Austin Powers in Goldmember - The swinging secret agent man squares off with Dr. Evil again after the archfiend and Mini-Me escape from a maximum-security prison. Teaming up with the mysterious, quite strange Goldmember, Dr. Evil dreams up a time-travel plan to take over the world after kidnapping Nigel Powers, Austin's father and England's most brilliant spy. Pursuing the villains through time, Austin visits 1975 and recruits his old flame, Foxxy Cleopatra. Mike Myers again plays Austin, Dr. Evil, Fat Bastard and adds a new character. Sir Michael Caine is Nigel Powers and Beyonce Knowles of Destiny's Child plays Foxxy. Returning cast members are Michael York, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Mindy Sterling and Verne J. Troyer. Also back is director Jay Roach.

The Country Bears - Rock 'n' roll goes to the bears in this bizarre musical comedy based on Disney's ``Country Bear Jamboree," a theme park attraction. The ursine ensemble broke up years earlier, but 11-year-old Beary, voiced by Haley Joel Osment, remains their biggest fan and heads up an effort to mount a reunion of the band members who haven't talked for years. Don Henley, John Hiatt, Elton John, Queen Latifah, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and Brian Setzer make guest appearances, and the cast includes Christopher Walken, Stephen Tobolowsky, Daryl ``Chill" Mitchell, M.C. Gainey and Alex Rocco, with voicings by James Gammon, Stephen Root and others. Peter Hastings directs.

XXX - Vin Diesel and director Rob Cohen of ``Fast and Furious" fame are at it again with the bald-pated muscle man as former extreme sports star Xander ``XXX" Cage, noted for his death-defying stunts. Samuel L. Jackson's Agent Gibbons hires XXX for a dangerous covert mission, which obviously will require high-octane stunts. Marton Csokas and Asia Argento are featured.

Igby Goes Down - Kieran Culkin is Igby Slocumb, a sarcastic 17-year-old rebel, son of a schizophrenic father played by Bill Pullman and a self-absorbed mother played by Susan Sarandon, with a shark-like Republican older brother played by Ryan Phillippe. Sent to military school in the Midwest, Igby escapes and hits the road, using his mother's credit card. In New York, he hides out at the weekend pied-a-terre of his godfather, acted by Jeff Goldblum, where he meets the old boy's choreographer girlfriend, played by Amanda Peet, and a bored young thing, acted by Claire Danes.

Swimfan - In a junior version of ``Fatal Attraction," Jesse Bradford and Shiri Appleby play a perfect young couple whose life runs into a danger zone with the arrival of an obsessive and seductive new babe in town, played by Erika Christensen. John Polson directs and his cast includes Broadway diva Kate Burton, with Dan Hedaya as the swim coach.

Ring - Based on one of Japan's biggest box office hits, the 1998 ``Ringu," this thriller focuses on a female journalist who finds a deadly videotape and learns that everyone who has seen it has died within seven days. Will she be next? Naomi Watts (``Mulholland Drive") heads the cast of this remake by Gore Verbinski (``The Mexican"), who also has the services of Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, Chris Cooper, Daveigh Chase and Richard Lineback.

Aug. 16

Simone - Al Pacino plays a failed movie director who creates the first totally credible synthesized movie star to finish his picture, hoping to win back his respect and his family. When Simone makes the movie a hit, her Pygmalion cannot bear to admit his fraud to the world, or to himself. Andrew Niccol (writer-director of ``Gattaca" and writer-producer of ``The Truman Show") has an ensemble that includes Catherine Keener, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jason Schwartzman, Evan Rachel Wood and Jay Mohn.

The Adventures of Pluto Nash - Eddie Murphy takes on the title role in this moonstruck comedy about a lunar nightclub owner fighting the Mafia for control of the satellite. Rosario Dawson plays an earthling trying to make it as a singer and Randy Quaid is Pluto's nearly obsolete bodyguard. Also manning the moon are Joe Pantoliano, Illeana Douglas, Pam Grier and Peter Boyle. Ron Underwood directs.

Serving Sara - Elizabeth Hurley plays Sara, stunned when she is served divorce papers in New York. In hopes of saving her share of the fortune amassed with her Texas husband, Sara makes an offer to her process server Joe, played by Matthew Perry, and together they head west. Reginald Hudlin directs an ensemble that includes Bruce Campbell, Amy Adams, Vincent Pastore and Cedric the Entertainer.

The Master of Disguise - After a considerable absence, the protean Dana Carvey comes back, this time as Pistachio Disguisey, an Italian waiter at the restaurant of his father, Fabbrizio, played by James Brolin. The waiter mimics the customers and yearns to change his looks, unaware that these traits are part of a hidden family legacy. Using ``Energico," the Disguiseys can mask their true selves so persuasively that Brent Spiner's evil Devlin Bowman plots to kidnap Fabbrizio. At last, Pistachio masters his gifts and charges to the rescue of his parents, aided by Jennifer Esposito's Jennifer. Perry Andelin Blake directs the screenplay co-written by Carvey.

Aug. 23

Drumline - Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana and Orlando Jones head the cast of this tale of a street drummer from Harlem who enrolls in a southern university in hopes of leading its marching band's drumline to victory. Initial setbacks cause him to rework his strategies. Charles Stone III directs.

They - Laura Regan plays Julia Lund, a psychology grad student with a loving boyfriend, whose encounter with a friend from the past forces her to relive the night terrors that paralyzed her as a child. Confronting her fears, she discovers there are others like her, but now her nightmares have become all too real. Robert Harmon directs an ensemble including Marc Blucas.